


Early morning

by Higgystar



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Rickyl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-09
Updated: 2014-11-09
Packaged: 2018-02-24 17:49:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2590670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Higgystar/pseuds/Higgystar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rickyl family fluff for a friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Early morning

It was early. Disgustingly early. The kind of early that even after the end of the world, when you had to be awake at the ungodliest hours to fight for your life, was still far too early. 

"Up! Up!" Comes a small voice, one full of life and laughter even at this hour. Daryl groans upon hearing it, burying his face further into Rick's chest and hoping that maybe today will be the day that a three year old learns how to take care of themselves. Alas, today is not his day and soon enough there is a chubby hand smacking at his cheek and the yelling has gone up in volume. "Dar-Dar! Daddy! Up! Up!"

Maybe if he refuses to open his eyes she'll think he's still asleep and wander off, or maybe even just nod back off herself, either way he's really incapable of being a decent care provider at this time of the morning. Rick grunts a little beneath him, breathing out a small sigh that ruffles Daryl's hair as he tries to bury even further away from the source of babbling. "Judith, it's sleepy time." Rick mumbles to her, and Daryl can feel his movements as his partner blindly reaches out an arm to swat at the toddler. 

She sees it as a game and before long she's crawling over them, her small weight settling on top of Daryl and bouncing on the spot, giggling and yanking on her father's fingers. "Nuh uh, ups Daddy. Ups for bunnies."

"Told ya." Daryl yawns, blearily opening one eye to peer at her, getting a face full of grinning Judith as he shows a sign of waking. "We're gettin' more bunnies after breakfast. It ain't breakfast yet, it ain't breakfast for a long time Asskicker." He tries to explain to her. The promise of going out to check the traps for more live rabbits had perked Judith's interest, she enjoyed helping him fill their hutches they had made. Thing is, she knew they were food, heck she even named the things and insisted on calling her dinner after whichever one had been sacrificed. Last night had been a dinner of Annie and vegetables. 

The toddler doesn't seem impressed with his reasoning and shakes her head, tapping at his cheek again before tugging on his hair. "Breakfast now. Then bunnies." She demands, stubborn as her mother had been. 

Closing his eye again he ignores her, sighing as Rick tugs him a little closer, wrapping him tighter in his arms and pressing a half awake kiss to his brow. There was no way he was moving anytime soon. "No, sleepy time now, breakfast later, then bunnies." He explains for her again, hoping that she understands the order of events. 

"Wan' bunnies Dar-Dar!" It's not enough and there's a squeak, a growl and then a small smack to the back of his head that has him trying to hide beneath the sheets from her. "Ups for bunnies!" She follows, smacking the back of his head until he's opening his eyes fully, glaring at her in the dim light as she sits on Rick's chest to look at him. 

"Told you, bunnies later." He growls to her, rubbing at his eyes as she follows him beneath the sheets. 

"Bunnies now!"

There's a deep sigh from Rick, his chest rising a falling heavily with Judith seated a top. "You are arguing with a three year old." The man points out, eyes open, awake, peering down at where Daryl has buried himself beneath the sheets and his daughter is keeping him pinned in place. 

Huffing to himself Daryl watches them both, able to see so much of Rick in Judith that it was frightening. "In a minute I'm going to be strangling a three year old." He grumbles, poking his tongue out at Judith, she repeats the action back until he's grabbing her up. 

She squeals in his arms, giggling as he tickles her, tugging up her night shirt to blow raspberries on her tummy until she's collapsed on the mattress in a fit of hysterics. Rick watches fondly, lifting the sheets up to see them both, running his fingers through Daryl's hair to get it to lie down from the static. Judith hums in delight from where she's lying, burying closer to Daryl's warmth with her thumb in her mouth. But quiet, not asking about bunnies and hopefully ready for a couple more hours of sleep.

"Told you not to tell her about the bunnies." Rick tells him, gazing lovingly at his daughter, and maybe him too. "I said she would be up all night, and now here we are at the crack of dawn." Again fingers stroke through his hair, and Daryl carefully moves back in to place at Rick's side, letting Judith be nestled between the pair of them. 

Keeping his voice low he doesn't want to get her too interested again, not when she was starting to look a little tired again. "It was the only way she would go to bed last night, if I promised her more bunnies." He shrugs, yawning to himself as he rests against Rick's shoulder, feeling another kiss to his brow. 

"She played you like a fiddle." Rick chuckles, looking at them both with adoring eyes, half asleep still but always awake enough to watch his family. "Knows exactly what to do to get what she wants from you."

"Gee, wonder who she picked that up from?" Daryl snorts. Between them Judith finally begins to flag, sprawled on the bed between them, taking up far more space than necessary for her small frame. Still there's enough room for all of them. 

Rick leans closer, careful movements so not to disturb his now sleeping daughter, and presses a light kiss to Daryl's lips. "Hush." He whispers and Daryl has to agree as he lies back down to try and sleep again. It was far too early for this shit. 

 


End file.
